Failed To Get Investors, Virgin Orbit Owned By Billionaire Richard Branson Lays Off 85 Percent Of Employees

Virgin Orbit (Photo: Doc. Virgin Orbit)

JAKARTA - Virgin Orbit has finally decided to release almost all of its workforce in the midst of difficult times to get funding from investors after a failed space mission.

The billionaire Richard Branson-owned company will cut 675 employees (85 percent), according to its filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, yesterday.

Before the Termination of Work Relations (PHK) occurred, earlier this month Virgin Orbit first stopped all operations. At that time, the company confirmed it would delay all work, but no specified time.

The announcement of the layoffs came after Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart told his employees where the company would extend unpaid leave for most of its workforce.

This is because the company is still seeking new funding to help continue its operations after negotiations of the deal were reported to have failed.

"Our investment discussions have been very dynamic over the past few days, are ongoing, and are not yet at a stage where we can provide updates," Hart told his employees via e-mail.

Virgin Orbit is reportedly close to reaching a $200 million deal with Texas-based venture capital investor Matthew Brown.

However, one of the sources said the final phase of the discussion ended in failure and was officially canceled last week. Talks with different potential buyers also stopped at the same time.

Previously reported, the company had failed its first satellite launch mission into orbit from England, after the top stages of the rocket were closed in time.

The problem was later identified, which resulted in the discovery of a rocket fuel filter that had been removed, causing the engine to become too hot and other components were not working over the Atlantic Ocean.

This event is a setback that occurred in the United Kingdom, where it should have marked the start of more commercial opportunities for the country's space industry, as quoted by ABC News and Engadget, Saturday, April 1.